In her previous life, Shen Qingci, a noblewoman of the capital, trusted her closest relatives and her cold-hearted fiance. A prophecy involving witchcraft brought the Duke of Zhenguo's entire household to ruin: her father and brothers were beheaded, the women of the family were exiled, and she died full of resentment on the snowy road to exile.
Reborn, the gentle legitimate daughter transformed into a blade with a keen edge. She wrested power back from her aunt, made her vicious cousin suffer the consequences of her own schemes, and, when her fiance called off their engagement, swore before everyone, “I'd rather marry an exiled man than go back to you.”
The family's catastrophe could not be avoided, and all its adult men were exiled to the frozen far north. Along the way, Shen Qingci protected her entire family with her slender shoulders. She met Xiao Yan, a defeated general shackled in heavy chains but concealing a sharp edge. Recognizing his potential, she rescued him, and they formed an alliance on the condition that he protect her family.
They depended on each other along three thousand li of deadly road, and their alliance gradually blossomed into love. Once they reached the barren Blackthorn Plains, Shen Qingci built heated beds with her own hands, found an underground river, and opened up fields. She brewed Blackthorn wine, made dyes, and brought in merchant caravans from across the land, turning the wasteland into a fortified haven, a “paradise.”
A decaying dynasty could not tolerate a sanctuary like theirs. When the new governor tightened the screws, Shen Qingci gave the signal by smashing her cup at a banquet, and Xiao Yan killed the corrupt official. Together, they raised the banner of rebellion.
From the Blackthorn Plains to the nine gates of the capital, he led the charge while she managed supplies and kept the people in check. In the end, they ruled together as emperor and empress, ushering in the start of a golden age. In this life, everyone who harmed her or her family would face justice.
“I once gazed up at the heavens from the dust. Now the whole world trembles at our names.”
